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Global Destination Sustainability Movement

The Global Destination Sustainability (GDS) Movement is an initiative that brings together professionals from the tourism, events and hospitality industries to promote sustainable and prosperous destinations. The movement advocates for sustainable practices, regenerative strategies, and circular thinking to ensure the long-term well-being of destinations for visitors, businesses, and residents. Let's take a closer look at how the partnership between ACB and GDSM helps make Amsterdam more sustainable.

About GDS

The GDS-Movement envisions flourishing places with sustainable progress via regenerative tourism and events as its mission. They equip individuals to create eco-friendly destinations by empowering them with the right mindsets, skill sets and tools for destination management.

The GDSM includes multiple facets. The GDS-Index is an innovative benchmarking program that evaluates the sustainability of locations. Its consulting services support DMOs in transforming their visitor economies by providing guidance, strategy development and capacity-building efforts. Providing additional programs like the GDS-Forum, the GDS-Academy, and GDS-Insights, GDS helps DMOs by providing educational and knowledge-sharing platforms.

Our partnership

In partnership with the Global Destinations Sustainability Movement (GDSM), the Amsterdam Convention Bureau gains insights from the organisation's annual GDS Index that evaluates sustainability progress. 

The index analyses Amsterdam's performance under four main categories—environment, social aspects, supplier involvement, and destination management—and considers factors like climate impact, energy usage, emissions, air quality, water conservation and inclusivity efforts. This partnership helps the Amsterdam Convention Bureau understand the evolving trends, challenges, and potential actions to establish more sustainable practices within the city's tourism and event sectors.